IN BRIEF (Page 12)

Smartphone 'zombies' wreak havoc in Tokyo

When the lights change at the Shibuya crossing in Japan's capital, one of the world's busiest pedestrian thoroughfares, hundreds of people with their eyes glued to smartphones pick their way over the road.

Monroe's lost love letters to be auctioned

It's no secret that baseball legend Joe DiMaggio loved Marilyn Monroe. The famed New York Yankee cried at her funeral and for 20 years had flowers placed at her crypt several times a week.

Ice Age infant burial site found in Alaska

Archaeologists working in Alaska's remote interior have discovered the burial site of an Ice Age infant and a late-term fetus, believed to be the youngest remains found in the Americas dating from that period.

Bush father, son back Jeb for White House run

Former US president George W. Bush said on Tuesday that he believes his brother Jeb Bush should run for president, but ultimately the former Florida governor must make his decision regardless of any pressure from the family.

Brisbane tightens security for G20

Australia is deploying its largest-ever peacetime security operation amid fears of violent protests or extremist attacks when world leaders, including US President Barack Obama, converge on Brisbane for the G20 summit this weekend.

12 women die in India after sterilization

A team of doctors rushed to central India on Wednesday after at least 12 women died and dozens of others fell ill during a government-run sterilization program to control the country's booming population, authorities said.

UN warns of winter crisis for displaced Iraqis

The UN refugee agency UNHCR has warned that a funding shortage could leave a million refugees across Iraq and Syria without proper help as they prepare for winter, a spokesman said on Tuesday.

Ex-Israeli pilot joins Kurdish fighters

A Canadian-born immigrant to Israel has become the first foreign woman to join Kurds battling the Islamic State group in Syria, a Kurdish source said on Tuesday, as details of the volunteer's turbulent past surfaced.

West Bank fire attack damages mosque

An attack against a mosque in a West Bank village early on Wednesday started a fire that destroyed its first floor, the village's mayor said, blaming Jewish settlers for the attack.

Fury over Mexican 'massacre' boils over

Mexicans furious at the presumed massacre of 43 students set fire to the ruling party's headquarters in Guerrero state and briefly took a police commander prisoner on Tuesday as growing protests rocked Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto's government.

Congress considers Obama's request for $6.2b to fight Ebola

Health workers on the front line of the Ebola crisis say the need for urgent help continues, as the US Congress begins considering President Barack Obama's $6.2 billion emergency aid request to fight the disease.